REVIEW: "Wallet or life?" - a book on finance that everyone should read

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

We hear a lot about financial independence and how to achieve it. Many people have tried to bring these ideas to life, but not many have succeeded. Authors of the book "Trick or Treat?" offer to achieve much more than financial independence - financially independent thinking.

I remember how my attempts to cope with money began with simply accounting for all expenses. This gave some results, but did not solve the problem. This was followed by budgeting, which helped, but only for a while.

Somewhere at this stage, I realized that the problem is not in accounting and budget, but in my attitude to money. Thinking changed - attitude changed. Then I got acquainted with the philosophy of YNAB, which helped to bring financial management to an acceptable level. But there was still no complete satisfaction. Probably because it is difficult to understand the essence of the problem if it lives in your head.

And just recently I read the book "Trick or Treat?", Which became the next step. But how I wish that she came across to me 20 years ago and was the first step! The point is that accounting and budgets are very important, but the main thing in dealing with money is financially independent thinking.

Financially independent thinking

The authors of the book have a very different view of the concept of "financial independence" than most of us. For them, this is not a passive inexhaustible income that allows them to live quietly and for a long time for their pleasure.

Financial independence is about gaining freedom on a psychological level. You are free from the fetters of unconscious ideas about money; free from the feelings of guilt, resentment, envy, frustration, and despair often associated with money problems. Of course, sometimes these feelings can visit you, but this is a completely different matter: at any moment you can get rid of them, as if taking off an outfit you disliked … Financial independence means freedom from misunderstanding, fear and fanaticism prevailing in the attitude of many people to money.

Vicki Robin "Trick or Treat?"

But a person can be independent only if he thinks independently. Therefore, financially independent thinking is a top priority for anyone seeking to establish a transparent and relaxed relationship with money.

A financially independent mindset naturally leads to financial awareness, financial integrity, and financial independence.

Vicki Robin "Trick or Treat?"

Such well-known tools as accounting and budgeting are also considered in the book from the point of view of financially independent thinking.

Holistic approach

Another feature of the book, which is closely related to the previous one and impressed me a lot, is the holistic approach.

Our book is designed to tie all aspects of your life together. It is dedicated to a holistic and systematic approach to life and will remind you of the core values - the basics of planning your expenses (and, we dare to hope, your savings) in terms of your life goals and values. The book tells about the most important freedom - the freedom to independently manage your life.

Vicki Robin "Trick or Treat?"

This means that money will not tell you where to work and live, but you yourself. If you visit Lifehacker, then you have a desire to live an interesting, rich and useful life. And if you are reading this article, then, most likely, money is on the way to your dream, or, rather, the need to earn money is not the work of your dreams. It is this injustice and others like it that the book "Wallet or Life?" Will help you to correct.

Efficiency

Do the tips in the book work? It's too early to talk about my practical experience. I can only say that in some respects she has already fundamentally changed my views not only on money, but also on life.

The history of the authors, their advice and the book itself is impressive. To begin with, the content of the book is not the fruit of some kind of innovative theories or research. It appeared as a result of more than ten years of experience of the authors in the implementation of these principles in life. For 20 years of its existence, "Wallet or Life?" was translated into 10 languages, sold almost a million copies, and all this was accompanied by stories from readers about the changes in their lives.

We now know that our program works in different cultural environments and for readers of different generations.

Vicki Robin "Trick or Treat?"

9 steps

First, the book will help you think in new ways and go beyond what everyone knows is true, and then create a new roadmap for finding money. The authors will offer nine easy steps, putting every detail on the shelves.

You have probably come across some of these steps: the second step, in fact, is to realize that when we buy, we pay not with money, but with time. But even this topic was revealed deeply enough to surprise me with several interesting revelations.

The authors explain each step in terms of its rationality and benefits. Show how it will allow you to start moving towards your dreams and be happy. Sometimes this is a strict rule, sometimes it is a general principle that you can easily adapt to yourself and your life. The story of the practical application of these principles is accompanied by interesting and instructive stories of real people who have succeeded.

Getting started reading this book, you must remember that it is not only about how to pay off debts and live in abundance, but primarily about the way to live a more meaningful and fulfilling life.

The people covered in this book have discovered that such a method does exist. You can lead a productive, meaningful life that suits us - and at the same time enjoy all material benefits. There is a way to balance the external and internal life according to the needs of the family and the internal needs. The task of making your life so that you feel more alive has a solution. You can organize it so that the question "Wallet or life?" you could say, "Thank you, I take both."

Vicki Robin "Trick or Treat?"